The mayor of St. John’s is stepping up calls for police officers to start walking the beat in downtown St. John’s again.

It comes on the heels of a broad survey of the public and businesses regarding the pedestrian mall.

The city’s What We Heard process found that most people want the mall to continue, citing the positive vibe and bump for business, but that aggressive panhandlers and overall safety concerns have to be addressed.

The city has long been calling for the return of RNC foot patrols downtown, not just for the ped mall.

Mayor Danny Breen raised it again last week in light of the survey, and doubled-down on the Tim Powers’ Show.

“It’s to the point now where I think if people could see a police presence, see that presence in the community, on the street, their feelings of being downtown would change and they could feel safer and we would be able to intervene on issues that happen down there much quicker,” he said.

Council also stressed the need for permanent public washrooms downtown, especially during the pedestrian mall, citing frustrations of both the public and businesses when the need arises.